North Kolkata
Chitpur
The road that was here before the city was.
- Known for
- The oldest road, jatra companies, sign painters
- Best hour
- Morning, before the traffic wins
- Walk
- 35 min, 5 stops
Chitpur Road predates Calcutta. It was the pilgrim route to Kalighat, and it still runs the trades that grew along it.
Photographs
Photographs of the quarter. Open one to see it full size.
Must-see buildings
- Nakhoda Masjid →
1926, red sandstone, modelled on Akbar's tomb.
Tiretta Bazar
The original Chinese quarter, with a breakfast market that starts at six.
The jatra para, Beadon Street
Company offices, poster walls, and casting in early autumn.
- Armenian Church of Nazareth →
1724, and the oldest church in the city.
Where to eat
Royal India Hotel
Rabindra Sarani
Since 1905. Mutton biryani, and it is not a hotel.
Zakaria Street, in Ramadan
Below Nakhoda Masjid
Haleem, suta kebab, phirni in clay bowls.
Tiretta Bazar breakfast
Central, 6–8am
Pork buns and fish ball soup. Over by seven.
Things to see
- 01
A dhol being tuned in a workshop doorway
The instrument makers work with the shutters up.
- 02
Jatra posters going up
September and October. Hand-painted, on the same walls for a century.
- 03
Zakaria Street at iftar
The best month to eat in this city, by some distance.
Where this sits
Loading map
27 quarters · pinch or use + / − to zoom
